Treading Lightly

The recent decision to halt tourism for six months on the island of Boracay, which the Head of State of the Philippines dubbed a “cesspool,” has reignited warning bells about the potential pitfalls of over tourism, writes assistant editor, Ann Ruppenstein in this week’s digital edition of Canadian Travel Press.

With tourism being the livelihood for many people and economies around the globe, for Trafalgar’s Global CEO, Gavin Tollman, the situation is not only a worst-case scenario, but a stark warning for just how bad things can get if no action is taken.

“We’ve got to be cautious, for those of us in tourism itself,” he tells Canadian Travel Press. “We have to be able to sustain and work with the communities we visit. You cannot just show up and take a photo or be what I’ve come to term ice-cream tourists of the world.”

Since the tourism industry creates jobs and has the potential to lead to long-term sustainable economic growth, he says the focus should be on finding ways of travelling right in the first place so destinations that thrive on tourism never have to take such drastic measures.

For the full story, check out this week’s digital edition of Canadian Travel Press.